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Intentional and unintentional contributions to nonspecific preparation during reaction time foreperiods (2001)
| Venue: | Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance |
| Citations: | 30 - 2 self |
BibTeX
@ARTICLE{Los01intentionaland,
author = {Er A. Los and Dirk J. Heslenfeld},
title = {Intentional and unintentional contributions to nonspecific preparation during reaction time foreperiods},
journal = {Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance},
year = {2001},
pages = {370--386}
}
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Abstract
The authors hypothesized that there are distinct intentional and unintentional influences on nonspecific preparation for a future event. In 2 experiments, participants responded to an imperative stimulus (S2) that was presented equiprobably either 400 ms or 1,200 ms after the offset of a warning stimulus (S1). During the S1–S2 interval, the authors measured the contingent negative variation (CNV), an event-related brain potential reflecting nonspecific preparation. S1 provided either no information or reliable information about the duration of the impending S1–S2 interval, thereby allowing an intentional influence on the state of preparation. The effect of S1 information on the CNV was approximately additive to the effect of the S1–S2 interval that was used on the preceding trial. This supports the view that the preceding S1–S2 interval contributes unintentionally to the state of nonspecific preparation guided by a process of trace conditioning. There is little doubt that human and animal behavior is a joint function of intentional and unintentional influences. Intentional influences stem from a goal-oriented, optional plan of the organ-ism and therefore have an internal origin. Influences unrelated to this plan are unintentional. These influences are typically triggered by events in the outside world but may be modified by a past learning history of the organism. In the present study, we examined intentional and unintentional influences on nonspecific preparation. Nonspecific preparation is concerned with the fluctuations of general preparedness for action to an anticipated event (e.g., Niemi & Näätänen, 1981). Recent investigations have yielded preliminary evidence for two possible contributions to nonspecific preparation, here referred to as tem-
Keyphrases
nonspecific preparation reaction time foreperiods s1 s2 interval unintentional influence unintentional contribution intentional influence internal origin ta nen recent investigation event-related brain trace conditioning animal behavior possible contribution past learning history contingent negative variation optional plan outside world anticipated event future event s1 information niemi na imperative stimulus present study warning stimulus impending s1 s2 interval little doubt reliable information joint function general preparedness preliminary evidence
